Family farm holidays in Cornwall magical for children, toddlers and babies.
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Coombe Mill Blog
"Tales from the farmers wife" shares the funny and interesting happenings on our lovely holiday farm with Farmer Nick and our 6 children. A behind the scenes look on balancing family, farming, the holiday business and cooking for all.
My Shirley Valentine Beach Moment in Cornwall
Be Shirley Valentine in Cornwall on our hidden beach. A lesser known beauty spot. Enjoy a glass of wine on a summer's evening and soak up th... Read More
Studying Caterpillars and Butterflies for The Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly count is on till 20th August. See what is triving in your arrea and try these fun crafts for kids to support your study. ... Read More
Paddington Sightseeing Adventures Board Game
Help Paddington find his way home through London's famous sights in Paddington Sightseeing Adventures, the board game, from University Games... Read More
Caramel the alpaca loses his winter coat
Caramel the Alpaca has his winter coat sheared to the audience of our holiday guests. A relief for the alpaca and a treat for the geusts to ... Read More
Campfire and bark rafts down the welly walk.
Adventure down the welly walk with a campfire and bark rafts. Shade from the sun and a stream to sail the rafts, bubbles to catch and a rope... Read More
Country Kids is the original outdoor family fun linky designed to:
“Encourage family fun outdoors, in an age where technology and screens are such a draw to a sedentary indoor life”
Welcome back if you are a regular to Country Kids and if you are new please join in. You will find plenty of inspiration for enjoying outdoor space and please do share your own adventures. We support the National Trust #50 things along with all other ideas for family fun outside.
End of term draws near.
It’s nearly the end of term and it feels like it in our house. With exams over for my eldest boys they are already working over the summer while the younger ones are doing precious little in lessons with under 2 weeks to the end of term. I’m already looking forward to no more school runs and a few weeks chill out time with some family fun. Until then we are making the most of the summer sun, light evenings and weekends. Whatever your plans for the week ahead I hope it includes some outdoor fun and as always please come and join me with your adventures on the link up below.
Guidelines for Joining in:
Post must be predominantly outdoors such as in the garden, the park, the woods or the beach with crafting, learning, exploring or playing.
Despite the title, both countryside and urban outdoor adventures are welcome.
Unheated covered areas like a barn or tent count as outdoors.
Please comment on my host post and a minimum of 3 others of your choice.
If you use #CountryKids when commenting the post owner will know where your found them and hopefully come back to visit your post.
Please take my badge, without it you won’t be considered for winning the lovely Rockfish Wellies.
Linked posts should be written and made live within the last 2 months.
I understand sometimes you need to do catch up posts and write about something from a couple of months ago but the publish date should be within 2 months.
There is no restriction on the number of posts that can be linked up, however please be sensible, if you have more than 3 consider linking over a few weeks.
My top commenters from last week:
Thanks to all of you who joined in last week and for the comments you took time to leave, we had a week with no link dumpers so a pat on the back to you all!
Rockfish kindly sponsor Country Kids
Win a pair of wellies from Rockfish Monthly
I am delighted to have Rockfish as the sponsor for Country Kids. Rockfish are a local Cornish company specializing in stylish quality wellingtons for all the family. We have been offering their country wellies in our borrow room here on the farm for over a year and they are always popular for their style, comfort and durability.
Each week my favourite #CountryKids posts, which include my badge or a link back here, will be considered for a free pair of Rockfish Wellies at the end of the month; the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather throws your way. Keep your posts coming, it could be you winning next!
For more more information on the Rockfish Wellies on offer with us and terms and conditions to win see here.
Favourite posts from last week added to the shortlist for winning the June Rockfish Wellies:
Top commenter:
Country Kids Communities
I’d love you to join me:
Pin on the Pinterest Board Just ask for an invite to pin and include Country Kids on your pins for me to stop by on your boards too.
Join the growing Country Kids Instagram Community with #CountryKidsFun.
I'll like and comment on all and share my favourites from the week with a tag on a Friday on Instagram and Twitter. We crossed the 10.000 post mark with outdoor fun in this community today which I find really exciting. Thank you to all who join in.
I love to build on an educational theme for our activity hour on the farm. This week was all about shapes with a group of children age 2 to 5. I had some fun ideas prepared to make learning shapes fun. After all, the children were on holiday and coming along for some creative fun and not to feel like they had started school.
Learning shapes and counting
I had a beautiful book on counting, colours and shapes from Phaidon I had reviewed on my Facebook Page and dug it out of our library collection. As we all sat down on my colour in picnic rug I began the book. The children were instantly drawn to the quirky opening of the book and soon they were all helping me turn the pages to identify and count the shapes revealed.
Printing shapes
It was clear the children had a good grasp on basic shapes and only a couple of the higher sided shapes were new to them. Everyone loves a little painting fun and while I read the book Clio was setting up paint at the craft table. We gathered round and used potato stamp shapes to print onto corresponding shape worksheets. (These can be found on the education pages of my website).
Circle Rolls
Re-gathering on the rug the children settled down to listen to a fun story of a circle who took on a life like character and rolled into his fellow shapes creating quite a commotion. This light-hearted tale had the children laughing and totally engaged. It is another gem from Phaidon I can totally recommend.
Identifying shapes in the fairy garden
After sitting so well, the children were more than happy to be on the move for our next task. We were off to the fairy gardens to identify shapes on the fairies new dancing carousel. This was one I had been making in Farmer Nick’s shed from an old chain real painted and wrapped at the middle with Duck Tape Colours to avoid any splinters. I had chosen to decorate it with different coloured painted shapes so it was perfect for today’s theme. The children spotted it as soon as they ran into the gardens and began shouting out all the shapes they could recognise.
Creating Shapes with Nature
While we were in the gardens I showed the children the magic sticking property of sticky weed. They each collected and piece and hunted for colourful flowers for our shapes craft.
Back at the table and rug I handed out cereal boxes cut to size and invited the children to choose some fabric to cover their boxes. We simply cut and stapled the material around the boxes to make a base for the sticky weed.
Then came the fun part; the children created their chosen shape from stickweed and stuck it to the board. If it didn’t work the first time, the stickweed just peeled off and could be stuck down again. We used double sided tape to fill the shapes with the collected colourful flowers. The children loved making them and seeing their shapes take form. The results were colourful and pretty and the shapes clear.
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Extra time and extra activities
That was the end of my organised learning shapes activities but the children took things further rolling down the bank like the circle in Circle Rolls. Then they asked for long rectangular strips of material to add to the wishing tree. They made their wish as they hung them and enjoyed a play with the wishing well before feeding the ponies that had come to watch us.
I don’t think anyone left thinking they had been learning anything, but they certainly had!
We have fallen in love with the creative Eggnogg Colour-in range after having so much use out of our picnic blanket this year. When the chance came along to sample more from the collection I simply couldn’t refuse. Kids will have a wonderful time this summer colouring in the new back pack and pencil case for their new term at school. Read on to find out more and for your chance to win.
Eggnogg Back Pack
Made from durable canvass with easy drawstring these bags are perfect for school PE kits, days out over the summer holidays, carrying a drink and a snack on a walk and so much more. However the real attraction is the colour-in part. The pack comes with 6 bright pens to spot and colour some of the UK’s big landmarks. I was thrilled to See Cornwall right up there with the Cornish pasty and the Eden Project featured! Where ever you live there will be something you have visited, know about or live near. Great ways to remember places visited and plan your next trip while colouring in.
Pencil Case
With the same high quality canvas and iconic UK symbols, a careful hand can add stylish colour to this black and white pencil case canvass. I’d say it would need an older child to make it neat, but any age will enjoy colouring it. What’s more, there is somewhere to store your pens after!
Need to know
· Machine washable at 30 o C, Eggnogg pen inks wash out leaving the fabric clean to colour-in again and again – and no need to worry about getting ink on clothes
RSP:
· £13.99 Pencil Case
· £19.99 Back Pack
· Every Eggnogg Colour-in fabric box includes a set of 6 colourful fabric pens
I don’t often share the personal stuff from our family life on the blog, but when a big event comes around it feels only appropriate. Theo is our third son to be leaving school after completing his GCSE’s last month. The school leavers prom night has blossomed into a huge event over recent years and our family life has revolved around this date. Long gone are the days of a leavers disco in the school hall. Now it is limousines at the Eden Project in all your best finery. It is lovely to see the school uniforms ditched and the posh frocks and suits coming out for the night. Trying to find something to fit a lanky teen isn’t easy, at just over 6f2″ tall Theo is my gentle giant. We managed to sort it and Farmer Nick and I had to pose for the obligatory garden photo with him before he set off.
Proud Parents.
Living in Cornwall nothing is close by, ‘After Prom’ or the real party was in a field about 15 miles away with a band till 5am. Taxi of Mum and Dad did well that night but never fear, he now has a whole summer of helping out on the farm before going to college in September. I’m sure that will be more than payback for late night pickups and as any parent will say, it was my privilege to see him dressed so smart and having a wonderful time.
All set for school leavers prom night.
Not the only big event this week.
Before I let Theo take all the limelight, I should also mention that Felix turned 18 this week and Clio took her Grade 5 ballet and Grade 6 tap exams. Neither would grace me with a photo but they can’t escape a mention!
Country Kids is the original outdoor family fun linky designed to:
“Encourage family fun outdoors, in an age where technology and screens are such a draw to a sedentary indoor life”
Welcome back if you are a regular to Country Kids and if you are new please join in. You will find plenty of inspiration for enjoying outdoor space and please do share your own adventures. We support the National Trust #50 things along with all other ideas for family fun outside.
Hello July
The summer heatwave continues here in Cornwall, and I believe across the country. The farm is looking very dry and not at all like Cornwall in summer. However while the animals are sitting it out in the shade of the trees and shelters, our guests are loving it with long days at the beach and full evenings eating and playing outdoors. We have been joining them with BBQs and sitting out till late, I will think of these glorious summer days in the middle of winter. As always please come and share your summer fun on the link up below.
Guidelines for Joining in:
Post must be predominantly outdoors such as in the garden, the park, the woods or the beach with crafting, learning, exploring or playing.
Despite the title, both countryside and urban outdoor adventures are welcome.
Unheated covered areas like a barn or tent count as outdoors.
Please comment on my host post and a minimum of 3 others of your choice.
If you use #CountryKids when commenting the post owner will know where your found them and hopefully come back to visit your post.
Please take my badge, without it you won’t be considered for winning the lovely Rockfish Wellies.
Linked posts should be written and made live within the last 2 months.
I understand sometimes you need to do catch up posts and write about something from a couple of months ago but the publish date should be within 2 months.
There is no restriction on the number of posts that can be linked up, however please be sensible, if you have more than 3 consider linking over a few weeks.
Thanks to all of you who joined in last week and for the comments you took time to leave, we had a week with no link dumpers so a pat on the back to you all!
Rockfish kindly sponsor Country Kids
Win a pair of wellies from Rockfish Monthly
I am delighted to have Rockfish as the sponsor for Country Kids. Rockfish are a local Cornish company specializing in stylish quality wellingtons for all the family. We have been offering their country wellies in our borrow room here on the farm for over a year and they are always popular for their style, comfort and durability.
Each week my favourite #CountryKids posts, which include my badge or a link back here, will be considered for a free pair of Rockfish Wellies at the end of the month; the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather throws your way. Keep your posts coming, it could be you winning next!
For more more information on the Rockfish Wellies on offer with us and terms and conditions to win see here.
June Welly Winner
Congratulations to Joy from Pink Oddy who is our June winner of the lovely Rockfish Wellies. Joy has been sharing her homeschooling journey this year and recent trip to Germany which looked educational and fun. Joy, do DM or email (mail@coombemill.com) your choice of wellies from the Rockfish range including size and colour as shown in stock.
Favourite posts from last week added to the shortlist for winning the June Rockfish Wellies:
Top Commenter: Louise from Little Hearts Big Love
Dear Mummy had a great few days exploring the Jurassic Coast around Lyme Regis
Watching a caterpillar develop into a butterfly and realising them into the wild is both educational and fascinating as shown by Kids of the Wild
Country Kids Communities
I’d love you to join me:
Pin on the Pinterest Board Just ask for an invite to pin and include Country Kids on your pins for me to stop by on your boards too.
Join the growing Country Kids Instagram Community with #CountryKidsFun.
I'll like and comment on all and share my favourites from the week with a tag on a Friday on Instagram and Twitter. With over 10,000 posts this community is flourishing with outdoors photos.
“Tales from the farmers wife” shares the funny and interesting happenings on our lovely holiday farm with Farmer Nick and our 6 children. A behind the scenes look on balancing family, farming, the holiday business and cooking for all.
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